Tag: Drinks

Happy New month. I am yet to get to terms with how fast this year is going. But then I realize, this happens every year. Oh well! How is June treating you so far? The rain has stopped and now the sun shines in its full glory. I am not complaining at all because I know that May-July are mango months. Yes the mangoes are all ready for harvesting. That is if you haven’t already gotten your fill of the raw ones and possibly made this jam. Last week, we got invited by a dear friend, who has a mango farm(!!), to harvest mangoes. I have been eating mangoes non stop for over a week now! My kitchen has been filled with epic mango experiments. Half of which failed miserably (the life of a recipe developer I tell you!). And in the next few weeks, you will be seeing a lot of mango content here! I have made mango jam, sorbet, juice, muffins, basically mango everything! If you have some suggestions on what you would like me to make with the mangoes, leave a comment below.

Now, lets us talk about this iced tea. First of all, it is made with jam. Mango jam. I found myself jamming a pan full of mangoes and aside from eating it with bread, I thought it would make a great addition to iced tea. Secondly, the base is lemon grass tea. Unconventional I know but that is what this blog is about. The iced tea is fragrant from the mango jam which has a hint of cloves and the lemongrass tea which is obtained from boiling lemongrass leaves. It is quite easy to put together as long as you have jam and lemongrass near, you are sorted this summer! I always have a pitcher in the fridge so that any time I need to cool down, I just pour myself some.

What you will need:

2 Tbsp. Mango Jam

5 C. Lemongrass tea

Ice cubes

Juice of 1 lemon

1 C. Mango, thinly sliced

Mint

Observations:

This is assuming that you have a lot of mangoes. The jam was made with a pan full of mango puree (which is about 3 liters!) to which I added 3 cups of sugar and a teaspoon of whole cloves and let it boil then simmer till it reduced up to almost 1/4th the original puree. Your jam should change from a bright yellow to a deep mustard yellow.

I made the mango jam with local ( non GMO) mangoes. These mangoes have a lot of fiber in them. The sieving process helps eliminate all those stringy fibers so that you can have a smooth iced tea.

If you notice, I have not included any sugar. This is because the jam is very sweet and will sweeten the 5 cups of the lemongrass tea. But if you would like to add more sugar, you are free to do so.

Method:

To make the lemongrass iced tea, you will need a handful of lemongrass (thoroughly washed) and 4-5 cups water. Pour the water in a clean pan. Add in the lemongrass and bring to a boil. Once the teas has come to a boil, remove from fire and set aside to cool.

Once the tea has completely cooled down, using a sieve, sieve two tablespoons of the mango jam into the lemongrass tea. Stir well. Chill the tea till its time to serve.

When its time to serve, fill your glasses with ice. Add mango slices and pour the iced tea. Squeeze in some lemon juice and finish off with mint as garnish.

Do you ever get stuck with a certain ingredient and always wonder what to do with it? So here is how this smoothie came to be. I have, for the longest time, eyed beet recipes online and have always wondered how they taste. I was at Nakasero Market a few weeks ago and saw a lot of beets so out of curiosity I decide to buy 4 for 3000 shillings. I was excited to come home and taste this magical fruit (is it a fruit?). Once I sliced it, and had the first taste. I had mixed feelings. The bright color was just so beautiful but the earthy taste needed a little getting used to. I blended the first one and made a vegetable juice. Lets just say that it took a lot of will power to get that juice down. About a week later I realised the beets are still in the fridge. I was trying to think of a way to make them more- you know- palatable. So while making a blended juice of bananas, pawpaw, avocado and watermelon(??) I decided on impulse to throw in some thinly sliced beets. It was the best decision ever. And until I discover another great way to prepare beets, this beet smoothie will be my best friend. The next time you find yourself with beets, try this smoothie. It is refreshing and what not a better way than to drink your fruits and vegetables!

What you will need:

1 Large ripe banana

½ Avocado

1-2 C. Pawpaw (papaya)

1 C. Watermelon

½ Beetroot

Sugar

Cold water

Method.

Wash and peel all fruits.

Dice the fruits and place in freezer overnight.

In a blender, combine all fruits sugar and some water and blend till smooth and soft peaks have formed.

Did you read that lengthy roundup I did last week? A lot of cooking has surely happened in this space. It is finally the rainy season and that means lots of warm comfortable food to eat and drink. So today I thought it a good idea to talk about porridge. I grew up on porridge and I am sure most of you did too. When in nursery school, the best part of every day was being served porridge and bread at break time. And because the weather is continuing to get wet gloomy and soggy, I believe a bowl of porridge will come in handy for the next few months. So why not learn the basics of making porridge. Again this is a basic recipe and I hope that once we have nailed the basics, we can get experimental. I cannot wait already.